BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power

Chapter 145 143 — A New Development Inside the Cave.

I opened my eyes…

Soft morning light was shining in.

Trees and birds…

And a cool breeze slipped into my private wing.

Today…

Was the final day of the first round.

Would I go?

Of course I would.

I wasn't about to waste the opportunity to benefit from it.

Since yesterday…

Most of my thoughts had revolved around the matches and fighting styles.

Every Lord possessed different attacks and methods.

Even Second Flame Lady and Third Flame Lord…

Who both belonged to the Volcano Sect…

Had completely different combat styles.

But…

Up until now…

There had been a major focus on two aspects.

The first…

Building one overwhelmingly strong primary attack…

And surrounding it with support.

The second…

The use of Ancient Weapons had been incredibly decisive.

The Lords who built their fighting styles entirely around their Ancient Weapons…

Were truly exceptional.

Even if they lost…

Like Puppet Lord.

At this moment…

There wasn't a single Lord I could confidently say I would defeat without worry.

In reality…

Even now…

I was still extremely weak defensively.

Perhaps I possessed Flame Art…

But it was not a suitable weapon for Fourth Rank.

The entire thing resembled scooping water from a small well using an enormous bucket.

Even the smallest movements…

Could consume an absurd amount of accumulation.

So either I strengthened my defense by another method…

Or I found a solution to my accumulation consumption.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Replayed all my previous battles in my head.

Puppet Lord…

Had nearly killed me through exhaustion.

Second Flame Lady…

One of her attacks alone had been enough to tear apart massive defenses.

Seven Steps Lord…

Didn't even require terrifying destructive power.

Just small injuries…

Then his opponent died mysteriously.

As for me…

My entire style until now…

Relied on pressure and nonstop offense.

"This will kill me later."

I whispered.

In the lower ranks…

Wild aggression had been enough.

But here…

The true Lords…

Knew how to survive.

And how to make their opponents bleed accumulation until the final drop.

I exhaled slowly.

Then raised my hand.

A small wind blade appeared above my palm.

It spun quietly.

I watched it silently.

"Wind."

I whispered.

"Fast… sharp… flexible…"

Then I narrowed my eyes.

"But it doesn't protect me."

In almost every battle…

I attacked.

Dodged.

Escaped.

As for real defense…

I had none.

Even the black sword…

Was more of a weapon of annihilation than a shield.

I slowly stood up.

Put on my robe.

And just as I was about to leave…

I stopped.

"Perhaps…"

I whispered inwardly.

Then my eyes returned to the small wind blade.

"Who said wind cannot become a wall?"

I quickly teleported to the cave…

And instructed the cave to construct a simple training dimension.

Afterward…

There was still time left before the dimension finished forming.

Previously…

The Deception Beast could create dimensions in an instant.

It accelerated the process enormously.

I had done the same thing now…

Made the process faster…

But…

There was no need to rush.

An entire hour remained before the dimension would be complete…

A good amount of time…

That could be spent on something else.

I moved…

One step after another…

Toward a white door on the side.

When I entered…

There were numerous doors inside.

What were they?

They were the living spaces of the Catastrophe Beasts.

There were many methods of controlling and imprisoning beasts.

As for Greater Catastrophe Beasts…

Placing them inside a cage merely made them prisoners…

Not truly under your control.

Even if you released one from its cage during battle…

There was a high chance it might attack your enemy…

But nothing was guaranteed.

Because the moment your opponent possessed a control ability…

The beast would completely fall under their command.

However…

If you already controlled the beast yourself…

Then no one else could seize control over it…

Even if they possessed the necessary tools.

As for me…

Instead of placing the beasts inside cages…

I had the cave create suitable environments for each one.

And in return…

I kept the time acceleration inside those spaces extremely normal, just like the cave itself.

During the past weeks…

I had trained frequently with them.

But since then…

I had not visited them again.

I opened the first door.

A mountainous environment appeared before me beneath clear skies…

With tall trees stretching toward the peaks.

The area was beautiful and breathtaking.

Naturally, I could build houses there or let people live inside…

But…

"The Deception Beast's warning was decisive."

I whispered.

Under no circumstances could I risk accelerating the cave's consumption.

That could lead to the cave merging with me…

And at that point…

Its capabilities would become far weaker than they currently were.

Then…

I would lose both the Master-Class weapons and the high-grade flowers.

At present…

Producing a Fourth-Grade flower consumed one day of my time.

If the cave merged with me…

Then producing a Fourth-Grade flower…

Might take more than ten years.

I would never risk destroying the monstrous advantage I possessed.

I would walk beside the wall…

And never take unnecessary risks.

I walked deeper into the mountainous region.

The air was pure…

And the sound of flowing water echoed from afar.

But…

Something felt different.

I stopped.

Narrowed my eyes.

"Too quiet."

I whispered.

From afar…

Between the dense trees…

A massive shadow slowly moved.

Then…

It emerged completely.

A gigantic beast…

Nearly six meters tall.

Its gray body was covered in rocky protrusions…

And four yellow eyes stared at me steadily.

The Greater Catastrophe Beast…

"Mountain Monolith of the Rampaging Peaks."

It didn't attack.

Instead, it simply stood there.

Watching me.

I smiled faintly.

"You seem calmer."

I whispered.

Previously…

It attacked anything that moved like a mad creature.

But now…

"Has it started growing accustomed to my presence?"

I whispered.

Was it sick?

What was happening?

I slowly raised my hand toward it.

The beast moved.

But…

Not toward me.

Instead…

It slowly lowered its enormous body.

As though waiting.

I narrowed my eyes in slight surprise.

"What is it doing?"

I whispered inwardly.

Then…

I smiled.

"Good."

I raised my hand higher.

Then walked toward it.

One step…

Then another…

Suddenly—

The beast roared loudly.

Then leaped away.

And vanished between the trees.

"Perhaps I imagined it was friendly."

I whispered.

I exited the door…

Then entered the next one.

The moment I stepped inside…

The environment was a desert…

Barren…

Filled with endless rocks and sand.

The air was hot and dry.

And the sky…

Was unpleasantly pale.

I had never liked this kind of place.

But…

Apparently the cave believed it was the perfect environment for a Greater Catastrophe Beast.

"Accumulation Venom Scorpion."

I looked left and right…

There was no trace of it.

I decided to search for it.

After a while…

I stopped.

Beneath my feet…

Was a massive burrow.

I narrowed my eyes.

Then jumped inside.

Darkness filled the tunnel.

I released several light insects.

The tiny creatures spread through the passage…

Illuminating the burrow with a soft yellow glow.

It was a huge, sprawling tunnel.

The walls were covered with scratches…

And traces of black venom.

After a while…

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you kidding me?!"

I scoffed.

The Accumulation Venom Scorpion stood before me.

But what shocked me…

Was something entirely different.

More than a hundred large eggs…

Were resting beside the scorpion.

Huge eggs…

Almost the size of a human head.

Dark-colored…

With faint shadows moving inside them.

Suddenly…

The scorpion spat venom toward me.

It moved furiously from side to side.

I quickly retreated.

It was obvious it was protecting the eggs.

I instantly raised my hand.

Several defensive wind blades formed around me.

TTTTSH!!

The venom collided against the blades…

Producing a horrifying corrosion sound.

Even the wind itself…

Began slowly dissolving.

"This damned venom is more dangerous than I remember."

I whispered.

The scorpion did not attack further.

Instead, it remained near the eggs.

All its legs curled protectively around them…

And its black eyes stared at me with obvious madness.

I fell silent briefly.

Then…

Started laughing lightly.

"So even Catastrophe Beasts become mothers."

I whispered mockingly.

But I quickly stopped laughing.

The Accumulation Venom Scorpion…

Was one of the most dangerous beasts I had traded for.

And if it had truly laid this many eggs…

Then that meant only one thing.

I narrowed my eyes.

"These are not ordinary eggs."

I slowly stepped closer.

Instantly—

The entire burrow shook violently.

The scorpion's tail slammed against the ground.

And venom surged out once more.

But this time…

It was not merely spit.

It was an entire poisonous fog.

I quickly retreated backward.

And in the next moment…

The rocks themselves began melting beneath the venom.

"Alright… alright."

I raised my hand in mock surrender.

"I won't touch your children."

The scorpion calmed slightly.

But remained tense.

I silently watched the eggs.

Then…

Suddenly remembered something.

The beast control tool.

If I managed to fully control this beast…

And with this number of eggs…

Then in the future…

I might possess an entire army of Accumulation Venom Scorpions.

My smile slowly widened.

"This…"

I whispered.

"Is far more valuable than I expected."